


put my name at the top of your list

by SubjectB2



Series: TS Jolex Week [1]
Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Arguing, Break Up, F/M, Kinda, Songfic, did not end as a fix-it fic, izzie's kansas corn kids, started off as a fix-it fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:20:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26090047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SubjectB2/pseuds/SubjectB2
Summary: “Alex. Alex- are you even listening to me?”.or: the fix-it fic and breakup fic in one that no one asked forthe last time - taylor swift | TS jolex week
Relationships: Alex Karev/Izzie Stevens, Alex Karev/Jo Wilson Karev
Series: TS Jolex Week [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1894273
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22
Collections: jolex x taylor swift week





	put my name at the top of your list

It had only taken Alex a week to come back from Kansas, apologising, grovelling, begging for forgiveness at Jo’s doorstep, but for Jo, it was a week too long. His apology- his shaky, rehearsed apology- was perfect. So fucking perfect. It wasn’t at all fair- Jo couldn’t have faulted him for a word if she tried, and dammit, she tried so hard. Despite the betrayal, the heartbreaking, soul-clenching betrayal that had fucked her up for that entire week, she couldn’t help but love him, couldn’t help wanting to accept the apology.

She ended up slamming the door in his face.

Her better judgement remained intact for a matter of months, and Alex, bless him, Alex tried everything. Countless apologies were given, in various formats- letters, flowers, powdered donuts, coffee. Then, he gave her space, followed by refusing to give her space.

In the end, he annoyed her into talking to him.

Things were rocky at first. Jo didn’t let him move in, of course, she wasn’t  _ that  _ stupid. They talked, over coffee, over tea, over the unconscious patients on the table in front of them on the odd occasion they’d land a case together. They talked, and they listened, and Jo dated him with precaution, despite Levi’s warnings against Alex in his entirety. Apparently, he held a grudge when it came to people hurting her- Jo found it kind of sweet, but also relentlessly irritating. She was old enough to make her own decisions, damnit.

God, how she wished she’d just listened to him and never opened her door.

“Alex. Alex- are you even listening to me?”

Her husband (ex-husband? Boyfriend? She never really knew what to call him) was sitting at the table of the loft, back to Jo, far more focused on whatever he was doing on his laptop than on her. He didn’t bother turning around, scrolling further down the page, and either missing or ignoring the frustration in her voice. He’d been doing this a lot recently.

“I just have to do this thing,” he explained, “it’s Izzie’s birthday soon and I want the kids to be able to get her something special. You know, not glitter crafts and all.”

That just made it all the more infuriating. Jo knew that he was still in contact with them, and never in a million years would have tried to stop him from missing out on his kids’ lives, not when they both spent most of theirs longing for their parents. That wasn’t the part she was mad about, or even the fact that he was talking to Izzie. 

No- it was the fact that she’d become secondary to his ex-wife the moment he walked out that door, and it had never changed.

“Right. You can’t listen to me for five seconds because you want to buy Izzie a birthday present.” She threw her arms up in defeat, whilst Alex still didn’t think to turn around, to have a conversation and fix the growing tension between the two.

“You know it’s not like that. This is for the kids,” he explained, shaking his head. “Come on, Jo, you know better.”

She jumped up from the couch, walking towards him in three long strides, her patience wearing dangerously thin. “Don’t you dare tell me that I know better than that. Don’t you do that to me.”

He looked up at her, her sudden aggression knocking a pinch of common sense into him. “I’m not with Izzie, I’m with you. I told you, I’m not going anywhere. You gotta start trusting me!”

“Yeah, well, the last time you told me you weren’t going anywhere, you left me for your ex wife and her farmhouse children!” She scoffed, shaking her head in a mixture of anger and disbelief. “And I’m supposed to trust you? I was calling you in  _ tears  _ and you were  _ sleeping  _ with her!”

“Oh, so we’re doing this again?” He sighed and leant back in his seat, laptop now untouched.

“Yes, we’re doing this again!” 

“This is childish, Jo. That was months ago, and I’ve changed, you know I have. It was a mistake, okay? A stupid mistake.” He walked towards her, hands moving to cup her face, but she pulled away, stepping back and holding a hand out, a warning for him to not go any closer.

“Have you?” She asked. Alex raised an eyebrow.

“Have I what?”

“Changed. Have you changed?” Now it was his turn to scoff.

“I can’t believe this.. Of course I have. Ask anyone- ask Meredith! I’m in love with you, not Izzie,” he argued, sounding beyond exasperated, as though this were Jo’s fault for the lack of trust.

“Well, you seemed to be pretty conflicted on that the last time,” she muttered, before shaking her head. “Alex, all I was asking you to do was listen. For the last time, Alex, I’m asking you to put me first.” The desperation in her voice was obvious, and if he couldn’t hear it, he could see it in her eyes. She wanted it to work out, God, she really did, but she couldn’t tear herself apart trying to love a man who loved another more than her, no matter how much she wanted to. She wasn’t like that. 

“If you can’t start putting me before Izzie, Alex, you can get out.” She nodded her head towards the door, but maintained eye contact. “Can you even do that?”

Silently, she willed him to tell her yes.

Alex didn’t answer.

“Right. I get it.” Alex started to protest after that, but she cut him off, nodding to the laptop, and then back to the door. “Get out.”

“Jo, c’mon, you can’t be serious,” he argued, tilting his head to the side.

“Get out!”

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this on a park bench at 8pm in the rain on mobile so you can imagine the kind of stress i am under. and yes.. i am aware someone already used this long but i finished it three seconds ago shut uppp


End file.
